August 16, 2009: Game Notes

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Timber Rattlers were beaten 4-2 by the Beloit Snappers. Wisconsin saw their three-game winning streak end.

SUPPAN: Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jeff Suppan made the start and took the loss for the Timber Rattlers last night. He pitched 3-1/3 innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Four of the five hits given up by Suppan were for extra bases.

EARLY HOLE: Beloit took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Michael Harrington doubled in the first run and scored on a double by Dominic De La Osa.

18 WHEELER: Brock Kjeldgaard blasted his eighteenth home run of the season to start the Rattlers half of the second inning. Kjeldgaard is now tied with Justin Leone (2000) and David Ortiz (1996) for fourth on the single season home run list for the franchise. Mike Wilson (2005) is next on the list with 19. Juan Silvestre (1999) and Matt Hagen (2003) share the home run record with 21.

SITUATIONALLY SPEAKING: The Snappers had a runner at third with less than two outs in both the third and fourth innings and got the runner home in both innings with an infield grounder.

CHANCES WERE: The Rattlers had runners at first and second with no outs in both the fifth and seventh innings, but scored only one run. That run came in on a two out error in the fifth.

THE OSTERBROCK WEEKEND: Beloit starter Daniel Osterbrock allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits with seven strikeouts over five innings. He is 2-0 against Wisconsin this season. Osterbrock is tied with Ryan Chaffee of Cedar Rapids for fourth in the Midwest League strikeout category with 108.

YEOMAN’S WORK: Nick Tyson pitched 4-2/3 innings of one-hit, shutout relief. That is the second longest relief outing of Tyson’s pro career. He pitched five innings for West Virginia on April 22, 2008 at Lexington.

A NOTE ABOUT ATTENDANCE: The crowd of 5,325 for last night’s Timber Rattlers game was the seventh crowd of 5,000+ to attend a game at Time Warner Cable Field this season. The season attendance for the Rattlers is now 207,662 for an average of 3,580. The franchise record for single season attendance is 233,797. If the Rattlers just draw their average attendance of the last 10 home games they will have a total attendance of 243,462.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Beloit Snappers are the Midwest League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They missed the playoffs in the first half of the season and are currently 21-28 in the second half of the season. Beloit is in seventh place of the Western Division and they are 2-1/2 games ahead of the Timber Rattlers. They trail division leading Peoria by 7-1/2 games and are 2-1/2 games behind Clinton for the Wild Card. The Snappers have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games.

SEASON SERIES: The Rattlers are 4-4 against the Snappers in 2009. Wisconsin took two out of three from the Snappers at Pohlman Field in late May. The teams split a four game series at Time Warner Cable Field in early June.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST: The Timber Rattlers are hitting .239 as a team. They have scored 476 runs (4.0/game) and hit 56 home runs. The Snappers are hitting .254 as a team. They have scored 517 runs (4.3/game) and hit 58 homers. Wisconsin pitchers have a team ERA of 4.35 while allowing a total of 588 runs (4.9/game). Beloit pitchers have a team ERA of 4.43 while allowing 614 runs (5.2/game). The Timber Rattler defense has committed 135 errors. The Snappers defense has committed 140 errors. Wisconsin is 32-29 at home this season. Beloit is 27-34 on the road in 2009.

BELOIT STARTING PITCHER: RHP Liam Hendricks was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Australia in 1007 by the Twins. Hendricks went 4-2 in 10 starts with a 2.05ERA for the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2007. He struck out 52 and walked 11 over 44 innings. He did not pitch last year due to an injury. Hendricks returned to the mound to make two appearances for Australia in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He pitched for the Elizabethton Twins to start the season and was 2-0 in three starts with a 3.71ERA. Hendricks is 1-3 with a 4.07ERA in seven starts for the Snappers this season. He has struck out 40 and walked 12 in 42 innings with Beloit. In his start before today, Hendricks allowed three runs on eight hits over 6-1/3 innings against Clinton on August 11. He walked two and struck out four and got a no decision. Today is the first time Hendricks is facing the Timber Rattlers. It is also the first time he is facing an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.